death of gangster
by CalliesViolets
Summary: A true look inside a life of gangster this one just might be running from something


Death of a gangster

In the tiny community of Africa, mostly zinc fences and graffiti walls staring at you. Small boys and idle men linger on the street. It was a sunny afternoon; Jackie went to the Old Harbour station to visit her son James. James was locked up for possession of an illegal firearm, a 5.7.5 magnum. When James saw his mother he was so overwhelmed, he shouted with tears in his eyes. "Mama, I am sorry I let you down, I know I hurt you but forgive me," he cried.

James was Jackie's investment. He was the last child out of her six children and the one who gives her heartache. Jasmine thought he was going to kill Jackie with his troubles. It killed Jackie to know that her baby was behind bars. In her mind he was innocent, but her daughter knew different. Jasmine was always lucky to see him holding a gun with his friends on the corners, but she dared not tell her mother such things. Her mother blamed herself for every one of James' actions. She watched Jackie day and night for James to be freed. The Only miracle Jasmine wanted for James was for him to be locked away for all the pain he caused her mother.

Jackie tried with her children without a father. She owned a hardware store she used to put them through school. She sent James to university but he chose the street life over education. He wanted to earn fast money. Jasmine stayed and piloted the hardware store with her mother.

It was James court day. It was the first time since high school Jasmine had seen her brother so well groomed. He always looked a like a ragamuffin. Jasmine could not sit still and watch the tears streaming down her mother's face. She wanted him to plead guilty, to give her mother some peace. The judge asked him what he pleads. Jackie voice could be heard screaming.

"Not guilty James, please!" she begged.

"Be quiet miss," the Judge ordered. Jasmine wanted to pull the pull the clouds from her mother's eyes, to let her see that James was a grown man. He pleaded not guilty to the charge. Jackie turned her eyes to the ceiling, her prayers had been answered. James' lawyer asked for his client to be put on bail. The judge declared that bail would be granted for the sum of one million dollars. Jackie was surprised, where would she get that type of money from. She forgot the business money Jasmine thought. She rather see him rot in jail than give him money he never tried to earn.

She asked Jasmine for the money in the accounts." Are you crazy Mama?" Jasmine said, "We have the store and James never laid a finger on a nail and you want money to help him out of his judgment. She wanted her mother to let James lie in the bed he made. Jackie made Jasmine feel inconsiderate. "You are so bitter Jasmine, I am your little brother," James told her with a dim look in his eyes.

"I am not bitter James you've placed yourself between a rock and a hard place," Jasmine snarled.

Jasmine just wanted to save her brother and her mother. Jackie cried like a dog who had been hit. James got two years in prison. Jasmine just wanted her mother to let go. She always told her mother that James was going to bite her ears off if she continues to play a blind eye to his to actions. Jackie visited him everyday. Sometimes she begged Jasmine to go, but she refused to go look at her brother behind a cage like some animal. She beckoned to her mother pleading to go see her brother. Jasmine just wanted to save her brother and her mother. Jasmine walked to the steps of the Spanish town penitentiary. The guard checked their bags and the food for weapons. She hated her brother for every minute she spent being searched like a criminal. Jasmine had never been to a jail cell before, neither a court house. Her brother's existence in her life instigated a series of embarrassing experiences that she would otherwise been able to perfectly avoid. She walked down the corridor to the cell, the inmates whistled at her. James face said it all, he was truly happy to see his sister. She was not too happy to be surrounded by convicts. She felt uncomfortable. She told James it was the first and the last time he was going to see her in jail.

"James look at how you Mama give you everything and look what you become, a shotta," she explained, "Mama and us deserve better where." "Where are your friends?" she asked, "Still playing gangster and you are here caged like some wild animal… I hope when you are free you will be tamed," she told him.

James now has six months left in prison. His friends inform him of what is taking place. He knows he is going to kill when he is out. He wants control of everything Black Day owns; extortion, robbery, reprisal are his line of events but since he is locked away Black Day runs things in the town.

Has bad has James thought he was, he cried in his cell at nights. Jackie fasted and prayed for James to be safe when he finally as to come home. James was released, on his way home; he linked his friends to find out how their criminal rocket was going. The very same night, he went to a businessman's home to kill him. James gave his followers orders from his jail cell to carryout. The businessman was to give him two hundred thousand dollar, but he refused to pay, so James decided to end his life. He jumped the fence of the businessman's house, the dogs barked at them has they walked towards the back door. James called the man out. He was only wearing his robe since he had retired to bed. James pointed the gun to the man's head, the businessman begged for his life. James squeezed the trigger. The man marrow was splashed on his wall and floor. James made his escape over the wall and into the awaiting corolla outside. James looked has if it was a normal day for him. The car left him at his gat.

Jackie sat on the veranda looking at the flowers she planted on her walkway. She did not see James in his murder clothes. If she had, then she would know that her baby was not innocent after all. James buried the gun and clothes behind his bedroom window outside. Jasmine stood under the coconut tree watching him has he dug the hole. He wiped sweat from his face, he place the pieces into the ground.

Jasmine approached him has he covered them up. He felt has if he would jump out of his clothes. He could not speak." You are doing it again James. You have not learnt. You are a murderer James," she told him. He pointed one of the guns at Jasmine that had not been buried yet. He just wanted her to know that he was not afraid to kill. Tears fell from her big brown eyes. She put her hand over her face. She could not believe her baby brother would really kill her. James stopped sleeping in the house. He extorted enough to buy himself a house for him and his murderer friends. Jasmine was happy to have gotten rid of him out of the house. She wished he never came back there for nothing at all. She could not process the thought of his actions. James craved more and more each day. Everyone in Africa and the surrounding community of Old Harbour knew him has the Stone Face Killer.

Jackie longed to see her son. She went by the house he bought. On her arrival she nearly dropped dead when she saw the yard full of men with guns. Her son was in the middle of it giving the men orders. She thought her eyes were deceiving her, probably she went to the wrong home. She convinced herself that she had indeed made a mistake and that it was not the face of her son she saw leading an army of ignorant evil creatures. She was startled; she hurried home to Jasmine to see if it was the correct place.

"Jasmine," she spoke, "I went by James. But I believe I don't know the place. I saw a yard filled with gunmen," she informed Jasmine, trembling. Jasmine knew it was James. She was more convinced that James was going to kill their mother. Jasmine and James stuck around after their brother and sisters went away. That fueled James with everything he regrets and he stills went around killing people.

It was mother's day James bought his mother a car. It was a red cherry QQ. Jackie was excited but Jasmine was not, she knew it was blood money that bought the car. She screamed all day long, she wanted her mother to give the car back but she could not say why she would not want her brother to end her life.

James sat outside the gate with his friends has Ma Lambee approached in her white gown and a red cloth on her head with pencils sticked into it. Ma Lambee was a warner woman anything says came to past. She spinned in circles has a fowl looking somewhere to lay. She warned, and everyone came out to see and hear.

"Murderer, yuh time is near, repent murderer yuh time is at hand," Ma Lambee exclaimed, "Madda a guh bawl! Madda a guh bawl! Man tek heed to the call," she bellowed has her voice echoed.

James did not believe in prayers no more than he robbed the church. So he could care less if there was a god. Jackie tried out her new vehicles on the main road. She had forgotten to put on her glasses her vision had gotten blurry has she got older and glasses had become a requirement when doing certain activities such as driving a car so she turned and drove back home. Jasmine confronted her about where James might have gotten the money to buy the car. James never worked since he dropped out of college, his brother and sisters had always been the ones to support him.

"Mama, stop being stupid! We know James doesn't work so how in hell does he acquire the money to buy a car?" Jasmine's eyes glint with an angry fire has she spoke to her mother. Jackie did not know what to say to her daughter. Was it right? It is too late to ask questions.

Gunshots rang out in the hot Sunday evening sun. Three men laid face down in their own blood. Dirty murky water washed their blood away. People came from behind every zinc fence in the community. Jackie's screamed out and held her belly and fell to the ground.

"Not my James!" she yelled aloud. She rubbed her eyes hoping she was dreaming, she realized it was red. She spun in circles with her hands on her head, as tears ran down her wrinkled cheeks. Apart of Jasmine was sad the other was happy. She loved her brother but she hated what he had become, a shotta. She was bitter for letting him cower her, if she had tried more he would be alive she told herself. She was bewildered by the events of the evening. She just did not understand how her brother became so ruthless.

In the midst of her pain she wanted someone to be dead. The police came and ran the yellow tape around the corpse. They took statements but people were afraid to talk, they knew it was Black Dog who killed James and his friends. "They killed together now they died together", a woman remarked. Jasmine had to take Jackie away, who was on the verge of collapsing. She fell asleep on the coach of her living room. She was restless, she cried as she slept, calling for her son James to come back. Church members came but she could not see anyone, she wanted to be alone. She could not wait till morning. As the cock crowed she was up, she showers and wrapped her head with her red turban and started her journey to the Obeah Man. She left before Jasmine was awake. She went through the back gate.

It only took thirty minutes from Old Harbour to Bartons. She was going to see Earl. she wanted the person who killed her son to meet the same fate. She wanted a hex to be placed on their life. As she walked up the lane, the purple flag, red, green and white were quiet visible. When you enter the yard, an enamel basin with water, grapefruit and cream soda was on a pedestal. She walked around the altar four times and went into the reading house. She sat at a table with Earl. She took out James blood stained shirt and showed him. He chanted two psalms and then looked into the basin of water that was on the table, he told her who murdered James.

Earl was associated with many gunmen, many of them are the customers he sees everyday. He was the biggest ginal in the town. He used his intuition on them and they bought it. Many thugs went there to get answers. Oils, potions, baths was his specialty. He reassured Jackie that the Black Dog and his followers were going to meet their doom.

Jackie did not want to hear that, she wanted him dead right away. She gave him the ten thousands dollars to get them killed. He called her back, "Don't worry Jackie, their time soon come. Remember your son was also a killer", he told her. Jackie had no idea how many men James shot and killed. She believed he was just in the wrong crowd. She was astonished, no one could tell her such nonsense. She left hastily. She saw Black Dog's mother on her way home. She could not keep it in. "Suh yu bwoy kil mi pickney fi nutten at all, memba yu a go holla", she warned. "Jackie, Jackie, they are both two of a kind, but it is unfortunate that your son could not play the game", she told her. Black Dog's mother knew her son was a walking time bomb. His blood stained garments she washed them and the ones beyond repair, she burned them. Her choir gown was Black Dog's hiding place for his weapons. Black Dog's mother walked away leaving Jackie in shock. She cried straight to the hardware. Jasmine wanted to know what was happening. "What is wrong Mama?"

"Black Dog is the one that killed James, Jasmine" Jackie informed Jasmine in tears. "How do you know this mother?" Jasmine asked her. "Earl told me, I saw his mother and she looked guilty", Jackie spoke. "You are going to believe some obeah man, he is dead and he is still hurting you mama, just let it go for peace sake".

They were told by the police that James was responsible for most of the murders in the area and probably his own death was a reprisal for someone he murdered. Jackie was hopping mad, she must be hearing things she thought. How could they, after her son was killed tarnish his name by associating him with murder? Jasmine knew her brother was a stone cold killer. She always warned him, "Every dog a go meet him four o'clock." But he did not believe in proverbs. He pretty much did not believe in anything. She wanted her mother to stop hurting. She wanted to show her mother James' guns and blood stained clothes. Jackie wouldn't be the same, Jasmine believed. It was a punishment to her for all the people James killed. She was feeling the pain of all those families.

Two weeks were left before the funeral. James sisters and brothers were present; they could not believe their little brother got caught up in the spiders' web. They did everything they could but Jackie would not smile. Jackie wanted James to bury her, she wanted to see him married with kids. To make her feel even worst was that no Pastor in Old Harbour would preach over his body. They knew he was a murderer, they buried all the innocent he murdered. Furthermore, he extorted all the churches. With all the money he possessed, he was buried without a prayer.

The End


End file.
